Beware of sexy siren calls.

[July 19th, 2006] WINNERS

Dozens of injured Portland cops must have read Saturday's Oregonian like school kids watching a snowstorm forecast. The paper reported that, of 92 injured police officers, more than half can't come off disability and back on the job as part of the mayor's plan to keep precincts open later. The reason: The officers have been off the clock so long that their state certifications have expired.

Portland has plunked down $3 million to help cyclists and pedestrians who brave Hawthorne Boulevard traffic. The money will add new signals and other safety devices to increase the survival rate of nonmotorists on Portland's mecca of hippie/hipster consumerism.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission stood up to utilities and will enact rules halting utilities' practice of pocketing cash from ratepayers for taxes that never get paid.

LOSERS

Yes, the fatal crash at the Oregon International Air Show could have happened any time at the Hillsboro Airport, given that it involved a display plane being flown home. But the tragedy's timing brought out criticism about all those other planes doing stunts near neighborhoods.

Looks like the natives are getting restless at City Hall. The Oregonian and the Portland Tribune both reported last week that Mayor Tom Potter is facing a potential revolt from a three-person council majority that wants to rein in the Portland Development Commission.

The tale of Lorna Jeanne Dudash shows you can't always ask for what you want. When Dudash called 911 last week to request the "cutie pie" Washington County sheriff's deputy who'd just responded to a noise complaint), the cop came right back, arrested the 45-year-old caller and charged her with misusing the emergency dispatch system.

About 1,000 Intel managers are losing their jobs. No word yet on how many Oregonians are in that number at the chipmaker, which has major operations in the state.

Corrections: Winners & Losers screwed up twice last week. The custodians Portland Public Schools hired as replacements four years ago were union custodians. And Derrick Foxworth was a commander at the time of his affair with Angela Oswalt. WW regrets the errors.